Ms. PAC-MAN

Game Summary

Xbox Live brings one of the all time classics from Namco Bandai Games to Xbox
Live Marketplace. The sequel to the incredibly popular Pac-Man, his girlfriend
Ms. Pac-Man takes a turn through the maze. Ms. Pac-Man attempts to clear various
challenging mazes filled with Pac-Dots and moving fruits while avoiding the
ghosts.
One collision from any of the ghosts means a loss of life. Survive a few
rounds of gameplay, and be treated to humorous intermissions showing the growing
romantic relationship between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, leading all the way up to
the arrival of "Junior."

Upon arriving at the hotel for the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 review event two weeks ago, THQ had left itineraries of what to expect. And there was one item of particular interest: a "Creation Workshop" in which we would create a wrestler in the new game and have it judged by a "special WWE guest."
Who could it be? We were left in suspense until after the presentation the following morning, when we were all introduced to the new United States Champion, Mike Mizanin, better known simply as The Miz.
The Miz took the podium, expressed his excitement for the game (which ships tomorrow), and then got right down to business, wanting to know why his ranking in the game was so low. He felt disparaged that there were actually Divas who had rankings higher than his 78, and made it clear that in next year's game, he had better come in with at least a 90, or else there would be trouble. Read More

Microsoft has confirmed that they are releasing two shiny new bundles that will fill the shelves at your nearest Walmart, Gamestop, and the like.
If your looking to take the bound into the next generation, these bundles are for you: each bundle contains deals that provide hours of entertainment with a small price tag.
The larger of the two, which consists of the 120GB Elite Xbox 360, Lego: Batman, and a copy of Pure, will retail for $299. A month or so ago, previous to the price drop, you would be paying about $450 for the items include in the console bundle.
In the second combo pack, you are offered a black wireless controller, along with 4 arcade titles: Bomberman Live, Lumines Live!, and Ms. Pac-man, along with the acclaimed Geometry Wars 2. Read More

Microsoft has announced that a new version of Geometry Wars is coming to Xbox Live Arcade next month from Activision.
Galaga Legions will also be coming, touted as the first true sequel to the original title. The same team who brought us Pac-Man Championship Edition are doing the honors, and it will be available next month.
Portal: Still Alive will come to XBLA this Fall with new achievements and levels.
And in 2009: South Park. Though details are few.
MS promises that XBLA will get a lot bigger this fall, and this is their strongest lineup ever, with over a million downloads. Read More

Well, this sucks. As you all may remember, we discovered that for no clear nor good reason, Nintendo doesn't allow gifting between the US and Canada, even though they're a part of the same region. On the upside, I can still use my US bank card, or even a Wii Points card from the US, and things at least work out that way.
Well, earlier this week, I was playing my demo of Pac-man Championship Edition again, and my wife asks why I don't just buy the full one already. "Why not, indeed?" I ask, and set forth to do just that. And I discovered why not: Much like MS Point cards from the US (got one as a gift once), I cannot use my US card here in Canada.
Just another lousy set of circumstances resulting from what strikes me as a rather dated system. Much like my inability to watch certain videos online, such as the Wii Fit girl on TRL (else I'd have reported that one myself), for weak reasoning at best. We have MTV here. We also get NBC and other programming here, but damn if I can watch it online.
And they wonder why there's so much piracy.
But, back to games: At least I got a review code for Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 that Capcom was so nice as to provide for me, so I'll be punching that up and giving it a good go this weekend; the demo was fun, I can say that much. I'll bring my further thoughts on it in the near future. Read More

So, word has gotten out that, rather than making an easier-to-use interface, Microsoft is simply going to erase any game that's not bringing in great numbers from the Xbox Live Marketplace. However, they've yet to announce any titles which will see their plugs pulled.
Which is of course what makes this rumored list interesting, as it looks at all the current titles which fulfill the given criteria given by MS: Available for six months, and holding a 65 percent or less Metacritic rating. The last criteria, current unknown and seperating these titles from virtual oblivion, is whether they've had a steady conversion rate.
Of course, even though they will retain all functionality and still be able to be re-downloaded in the event of lost data, the following list are the ones you should probably snag sooner, if you wish to take advantage of that safety net, as there may not be a later.
See the list (and a few thoughts) after the jump. Read More